Purple Art

[January 31 2017]

A preview of Judith Bernstein political drawings’ book “Dicks of Death” published by Patrick Frey Edition, out now!

Published by Patrick Frey Edition, New York City-based artist Judith Bernstein presents her phallic drawings in “Dicks of Death,” a book representing in her words “an amalgamation of anti-war, feminism and sexuality.“

“For over five decades, my most powerful and intense relationship has been with my work. As a graduate student at Yale in the ‘60s, I began to use the phallus as a metaphor for feminism and male posturing. At the time, Yale was an all-male undergraduate program. I became fascinated with explicit graffiti that I discovered in men’s bathrooms, finding inspiration in raw humor and unedited scrawls. Aggression and humor are strongly connected in my work. This is epitomized in my piece “Supercock” (1966), a drawing of a comic superhero with huge genitals ejaculating through the world; and in “Fun-Gun” (1967), an anatomical drawing of a phallus shooting collaged live ammo. My “Fuck Vietnam” series was just the start. Graffiti influences can be traced throughout my entire body of work and in my scatological titles such as “Dicks of Death” (2015). I confront war with very graphic, in-your-face words and images. Stuffed phalluses, blood and semen juxtapose national imagery and the US flag. It’s funny – but it’s dead serious!” – Judith Bernstein

Dicks of Death by Judith Bernstein is now available to buy here